By Dr Patrick ODougherty

Juneteenth is the birthday of Patrick ODougherty’s uncle.

Loyola ODougherty was and is the Valedictorian of Nazareth Hall Seminary. 

Loyola’s father died when the children were quite young. His mother was incapacitated with migraine headaches. This left Loy with little option but Naz Hall Seminary which he began attending in grade school.  He was very proud to be a Naz Hall boy. When he would come to Minnesota to visit relatives he used to take his nephew to the Swedish Smorgasbord on Snelling Avenue. It used to remind him of his winter school street car rides to Nazareth Hall. 

   Lamy of Santa Fe: The Tradition—Loyola ODougherty

At graduation from Nazareth Hall a Bishop from Tucson gave a talk to the graduating class. He asked if there were any vocations who might be interested in AZ. My uncle who had rheumatoid arthritis signed on board. 

    Boarding Up the Oldest English Catholic Church in Tucson: 

How to marry a millionaire! 

   When My uncle was appointed Vicar General, one of the first actions he took was to board up the oldest English Catholic Parish as a symbol of victory to the Mexicans. Who do you think were Reverend Loyola vocations. He taught the English Catholics in Tucson how to marry a millionaire. 

Curriculum Writer:

Loy learned to speak Spanish fluently and wrote the curriculum for the Catholic Schools in Tucson. 

Tucson was quite a small town in the 1940s when Loyola ODougherty began his duties at St Ambrose, Athens Cathedral. He liked to invest and over a course of a lifetime he became very wealthy. He left his millions to his priest vocations, like Father Greene. The English Catholics who lost their church became very wealthy under Reverend Loyola ODougherty’s mentoring. 

Wages Issues! 

    Minimum Wage? Why not try a Businness where you make $ 50K

When the Hispanics who he hired would ask him to help them get a good paying hourly wage job he would respond ‘ Did you ever thing about owing an auto repair business. Why don’t you try to earn $50,000 a year and he would show the Hispanics how to realize a business income this large, for example, the Trujillo family who impressed him very much. 

Cursillo Movement! 

     Reverend Loyola ODougherty introduced the Cursillo Movement to North America. He loved Spanish culture and helped the Basques immigrate to Tucson. He built the Hermit Clergy network as well. 

Hermit Vocation Network

     Later in life he purchased a lot in a Mammoth Az where he bought a double wide 80’ Mackenzie to live in for retirement. 

As director of vocations he was eating in a Tucson restart and started talking to the customer next to him who happened to be Irish. He asked him the vocation question.  The hippy type responded,  “Would the director of vocations consider a HERMIT.” Loyola told him he would. This priest went on to found the clergy religious hermit  network in the Southwest. This network produced many vocations. Who gave the sermon reflection at my uncle’s funeral the Irish Hermit priest in full hermit garb. Who played the liturgy at Reverend Loyola’s funeral. A Pima Indian Band dressed in Pima garb played the St John’s University Liturgy. 

No Lightweights: RE: Andrew Greeley

Andrew Greeley was a priest in AZ, however, my uncle found him lacking in rigor. He opted not to meet him. He introduced me to Linda Ronstadt’s father at his hardware store in Tucson. Later, I had to contact Linda Rhondstadt’s police chief brother about identity issues in travel to Mexico. He was quite knowledgeable. 

Lilies of the Field: James ODougherty and Loyola ODougherty

The movie Lillies of the Field is based on the life of my SJU father, James ODougherty and my uncle Loyola ODougherty who built the Convent for the nuns in Boulder, CO. 

My father and my uncle are Irish Catholic founders of Hollywood! 

Comments! 

My uncle was the Great White Father and most famous priest in the Southwest for 40 years!